Question Period Note: Provincial and territorial vaccine allocations

• What is the government doing to make sure the provinces and territories have the vaccines they need?

KEY MESSAGES
• Canada worked with the provinces and territories and Indigenous communities to develop a vaccine rollout strategy that focuses efforts, in the context of a limited initial vaccine supply, on protecting those at greatest risk of severe illness, hospitalization, or death.
• On June 14, the Government surpassed the milestone of over 33 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines delivered to provinces and territories, and federal partners.
• We are continuing to work closely with provinces and territories and with our Indigenous partners to ensure that as supply increases so does their capacity to administer vaccine to Canadians.
• With over 62% of the Canadian population having received at least one dose, jurisdictions are starting to pivot their campaigns to mass second dose deployment. Canada will support provinces and territories to ensure sufficient supply by mid-summer to offer two-doses to all eligible persons in Canada.
• To ensure management of vaccine distribution on a national scale during a pandemic, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) developed VaccineConnect, a vaccine management IT platform built on existing PHAC capabilities.
• VaccineConnect is supportive of and complementary to the provincial/territorial IT systems and processes. It will provide the information and support that provinces and territories need for planning, management, and reporting.

BACKGROUND
On December 8, 2020, Canada’s COVID-19 Immunization Plan was released. The plan put an emphasis on six main principles—Science-driven Decision-making; Transparency; Coherence and Adaptability; Fairness and Equity; Public Involvement; and Consistent Reporting.
Based on this model, Canada has remained adaptable, keeping in mind equity and fairness in respect to all aspects of the vaccine supplies and distribution to the provinces and territories.

Canada has remained engaged and involved with provinces and territories (PT) in order to address any potential gaps in vaccine allocations, keeping in mind that PT governments are responsible for administering vaccination programs and determining public health requirements in their jurisdictions.
Canada has secured contracts with vaccine suppliers and conducted regulatory reviews to ensure the safety of its authorized vaccines. Furthermore, by providing logistics services and by covering the costs of vaccines, Canada will continue to provide support to PTs, which includes, but is not limited to, enhancing PT cold-chain capacity.

We will continue to coordinate the delivery of vaccine supplies and will work with PTs to unlock and optimize resources across the country. Furthermore, federal, provincial and territorial officials, along with Indigenous leaders, are continuing to meet frequently to refine plans for the distribution and administration of vaccines throughout Canada. Canada’s engagement to date ensures equitable access to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples as well as distribution of vaccines to Canada’s northern territories and other remote and isolated areas.

Canada does not have a centralized vaccine tracking system since health care comes under provincial authority and this has resulted in individual systems that differ from province to province. Management of vaccine distribution on a national scale during a pandemic, such as COVID-19, necessitated a new system that would build on existing PHAC capabilities to enhance vaccine distribution, administration and reporting. The system has been newly branded as VaccineConnect, from the previous National Vaccine Management IT Platform .The initial release of VaccineConnect was launched in early February 2021, with continued enhancements and releases being delivered during the succeeding months.

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